UNIDIR/2007/4 Celebrating the Space Age 50 Years of Space Technology, 40 Years of the Outer Space Treaty Conference Report 2–3 April 2007 UNIDIR United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research Geneva, Switzerland New York and Geneva, 2007 NOTE The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. * * * The views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the individual authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the United Nations, UNIDIR, its staff members or sponsors. UNIDIR/2007/4 Copyright © United Nations, 2007 All rights reserved UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS Sales No. GV.E.07.0.8 ISBN 978-92-9045-189-1 The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)—an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations—conducts research on disarmament and security. UNIDIR is based in Geneva, Switzerland, the centre for bilateral and multilateral disarmament and non- proliferation negotiations, and home of the Conference on Disarmament. The Institute explores current issues pertaining to the variety of existing and future armaments, as well as global diplomacy and local tensions and conflicts. Working with researchers, diplomats, government officials, NGOs and other institutions since 1980, UNIDIR acts as a bridge between the research community and governments. UNIDIR’s activities are funded by contributions from governments and donor foundations. The Institute’s web site can be found at: www.unidir.org CONTENTS Foreword by Patricia Lewis ............................................................ vii Acknowledgements ....................................................................... ix About the speakers ........................................................................ xi Opening remarks by Sergei Ordzhonikidze ................................... xvii Conference report ........................................................................ 1 Sputnik and Russia’s outer space activities Vladimir Putkov ............................................................................ 37 The Outer Space Treaty: then and now Sergey Batsanov ............................................................................ 51 China’s space activities: present and future Xu Yansong ................................................................................... 57 Peace in space: building on the Outer Space Treaty Gérard Brachet ............................................................................. 67 Current CD developments regarding PAROS Paul Meyer ................................................................................... 77 Space security: perspectives of developing countries Hewa Palihakkara ......................................................................... 83 Alternative approaches for ensuring space security James B. Armor, Jr. ........................................................................ 89 Putting current space militarization and weaponization dynamics in perspective: an approach to space security Kiran Nair ..................................................................................... 99 Fundamental ways to ensure outer space security: negotiating and concluding a legally binding international instrument Zhang Ju’nan ................................................................................ 109 v vi The Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force Against Outer Space Objects Anton Vasiliev ............................................................................... 113 The Space Security Index: changing trends in space security and the Outer Space Treaty Jessica West .................................................................................. 119 Developments in ballistic missile defences Peter Hays .................................................................................... 129 “Hit-to-kill” and the threat to space assets Jeffrey Lewis ................................................................................. 147 Orbital debris produced by kinetic-energy anti-satellite weapons David Wright ................................................................................ 155 A Code of Conduct for Responsible Space-Faring Nations Michael Krepon ............................................................................ 165 Cooperative management of the space environment Richard DalBello ........................................................................... 175 Study on space traffic management by the International Academy of Astronautics Petr Lála ....................................................................................... 179 The security dimensions of space traffic management Phillip J. Baines ............................................................................. 189 A ban on destructive anti-satellite weapons: useful and feasible Laura Grego .................................................................................. 201 Overcoming institutional inertia Rebecca Johnson .......................................................................... 209 Moving from dialogue to action Colleen M. Driscoll ....................................................................... 217 Acronyms ..................................................................................... 227 FOREWORD “Celebrating the Space Age: 50 Years of Space Technology, 40 Years of the Outer Space Treaty” was the sixth conference held by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) on the issue of space security, the peaceful uses of outer space and the prevention of an arms race in outer space. Participants at the conference reflected on the anniversaries celebrated in 2007—the launch of Sputnik I in 1957 and the entry into force of the Outer Space Treaty in 1967—and how the Space Age has shaped, and continues to shape, the world of today. The necessity of making human use of outer space sustainable was a common theme, underlined by discussions of the challenges and threats faced by all states in this regard. Various understandings of and approaches to space security were put forward, as well as concrete proposals on how to guarantee that outer space is preserved as an environment to be used peacefully by humankind, for the good of humankind. A fiftieth anniversary is known as a golden anniversary and a fortieth is known as a ruby. We refer often to stars in the myriad of galaxies as the jewels of the heavens. Outer space is most certainly a wealth of enormous potential— almost the entire world depends on communications via satellite, the poorest of people now have their local and regional economies empowered by wireless technology, farmers in developing and developed countries alike check weather conditions and market prices daily on-line, and health care and education reaches people in remote locations who otherwise would be unreachable. Space debris from accidental or deliberate collisions and the weaponization of space would halt all such important developments. UNIDIR is grateful to all of our colleagues from academia and the United Nations for coming to Geneva every year to give their time and expertise. We are also grateful for the financial, political and material support of the Governments of Canada, the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation, as well as of the Secure World Foundation and The Simons Foundation, that makes these conferences and publications possible. Patricia Lewis, Director UNIDIR vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research would like to thank all the speakers at the conference for their expert and intellectual contributions: James Armor, Phillip Baines, Sergey Batsanov, Gérard Brachet, Richard DalBello, Colleen Driscoll, Laura Grego, Peter Hays, Rebecca Johnson, Michael Krepon, Petr Lála, Jeffrey Lewis, Paul Meyer, Kiran Nair, Hewa Palihakkara, Vladimir Putkov, Anton Vasiliev, Jessica West, David Wright, Xu Yansong and Zhang Jun’an. We would also like to thank the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva and Secretary- General of the Conference on Disarmament, Sergei Ordzhonikidze, for delivering the opening remarks. UNIDIR would like to express its gratitude to the Governments of Canada, the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation, as well as to the Secure World Foundation and The Simons Foundation, for their financial, political and material support of this conference. In particular, UNIDIR would like to thank Ambassador Paul Meyer, Eric Walsh and Gillian Frost of the Permanent Mission of Canada in Geneva; Douglas Aldworth from Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada; Ambassador Cheng Jingye, Li Yang and Zhao Li of the Permanent Mission of China in Geneva; and Ambassador Valery Loshchinin, Anton Vasiliev, Valery Semin and Alexey Petrenko of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation in Geneva. We are also indebted to Cynda Collins Arsenault of the Secure World Foundation and particularly to Jennifer Allen Simons of The Simons Foundation for her unswerving support for this series of conferences. Special thanks are due to Arjun Dutta for compiling the conference report with the assistance of William Assanvo. Jason Powers edited